Bow frame



Feb. 18, 1969 J. w. CAVOLI I 3,428,227

BOW FRAME Filed Jan. 8, 1968 JWVENI'OR JOSEPH n. CA v04! United StatesPatent 3,428,227 BOW FRAME Joseph W. Cavoli, Brooklyn, N.Y., assignor toArtistic Packaging, Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y. Filed Jan. 8, 1968, Ser. No.696,384 US. Cl. 223--46 Int. Cl. A41h 43/00; D04g 5/00 1 Claim ABSTRACTOF THE DISCLOSURE A device utilizing four pneumatic cylinders to hold aribbon bow under tension during tying, and then release it rapidly.

This invention relates to mechanical aids to the manual forming of clothinto shapes, and particularly to devices to provide powered assistancefor hand-tying of ribbon into decorative bows.

Background of the invention Summary of the invention The presentinvention utilizes four small diameter shafts each free at one end toprovide a form or frame for the tying of a decorative bow. As in priordevices for this purpose, the separation and angular relationship amongthe four shafts may be varied and locked in position depending upon thesize of bow desired, but this device utilizes a simple, safe andreliable pneumatic actuator to hold the bow in tension during tying, andto simultaneously and rapidly withdraw the four shafts from the bow forrelease. The length of the shaft which protrudes into the bow may alsobe simply adjusted. In this manner uniform tied bows can be quickly andeasily formed and released from the forming frame with minimal strain onthe operator and a high degree of repeatability.

It is an object of this invention to provide a frame for the manualforming of ribbon bows, which contains a quick, simple powered release.

A second object of this invention is to provide a frame for the formingof bows which is usable for a large range of bow sizes and widths.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a device forrepetitively manufacturing uniform bows which is not tiring to anoperator.

These and other features, objects and advantages of the invention will,in part, be pointed out with particularity and will, in part, becomeobvious from the following more detailed description of the invention,taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, which forms anintegral part thereof.

Brief description of the drawing FIG. 1 is an isometric view, taken infront of and slightly above a device of this invention, just subsequentto the forming of a bow;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view taken in front of and slightly above adevice of this invention just subsequent to the release of a bow.

Description of the preferred embodiment Referring to FIG. 1, there aremounted on plate four identical pneumatically operated cylinders 22a,22b, 22c and 22d, supported thereto respectively by brackets 12a, 12b,12c and 12d, and discs 14a, 14b, 14c and 14d. Brackets 12 are mounted todiscs 14 by means of flanges 19. Rods 26a, 26b, 26c and 26d are used tohold bow 40 during forming. The relative angles of rods 26 may becontorlled by rotating discs 14 about axes 18 and locking them by meansof screws 16. The separation of rods 26 may be adjusted by releasinglocking screws 20 and tilting arms 12 and relocking in the desiredangular position (as shrown in dashed lines in the lower left part ofFIG. 1

The withdrawal of rods 26 from the bow, which withdrawn condition isshown in FIG. 2, is accomplished by applying air pressure at ports 30,which forces pistons 24 away from brackets 12, the pistons carrying rods26 with them until pistons 24 strike internal stops not shown. Forsubsequent use, air pressure applied at ports 28 forces pistons 24toward brackets 12 exposing a length of rod 26 from the interior portionof cylinder 22, this action continuing until end buttons 32 strike theend of cylinders 22 preventing further protrusion of rods 26 andreestablishing the condition shown in FIG. 1. The amount of protrusionof rods 26 may be controlled by adding or removing spacers shownrepresentatively as 34 and 36 in the figure. A larger or smaller numberof spacers than is shown may be used.

It should be recognized that air to inputs 28 and 30 may be controlledby an air valve which may, for example, be foot-actuated by the operatorproviding a simple, rapid means for inserting and removing rods 26 frombow 40. It should further be recognized that initial settings such asthe angular position of parts 12 and 14 may be controlled by gearedmechanisms, either manually operated or automatically operated, toprovide even simpler means of initial adjustment of relative angle andseparation of rods 26. FIGS. 1 and 2 represent a simple embodiment fromthe viewpoint of initial adjustment.

Having thus disclosed the best embodiment of the invention presentlycontemplated, it is to be understood that various changes andmodifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departingfrom the spirit of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A bow-forming jig comprising:

(a) four upright members each pivotable about a transverse axis; (b)means to lock said upright members each in a selected position;

(c) a cylinder carried by each of said upright members and each having apiston arranged for pneumatic actuation in a plane transverse to saidupright members; and

(d) a rod extending from each of said pistons, pairs of said rods beingarranged to move along intersecting paths defining a parallelogram, saidrods being arranged to move to and from a position wherein said pairssubstantially meet and where said pairs are spaced for removal of a tiedbow.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,308,800 7/1919 Mendelson et a1.22346 2,775,377 12/1956 Cook 22346 3,147,894 9/1964 Zenk 22346 JORDANFRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

GEORGE V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner.

U.S.C1. X.R.

